1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dead human body embalming method for preventing decomposition and for preserving human bodies for which death was the result of various causes.
2. Related Arts
Since for human bodies, for which death was the result of various causes, tissue degeneration and damage proceed quickly, discoloring the skin and producing odors and gas, bodies of the dead are conventionally cleaned using an antiseptic solution, such as ethanol, and are cooled with dry ice or with an ice bag to delay decomposition. But, while disinfection of the skin surface and cooling applied from the outside can, to a degree, delay decomposition, this processing method is not very effective during a hot summer or in a location having a warm or tropical climate. Further, since when such a cooling preservation method is used the surface of a body is rapidly cooled and the skin is darkened, the appearance of the body tends to become even more unnatural.
Furthermore, since embalmment and sterilization of the organs of a body are not possible when ethanol, formalin or another antiseptic solution is used only for surface disinfection, internally retained viruses and other pathogenic bacteria can be discharged with the gas generated by decomposition, and medical personnel and bereaved family members, and those other than the immediate family who attend a funeral service, may be in danger of contracting an infectious disease. Aside from the process that has been described here, there is one old anatomic preservation method whereby, for the antiseptic processing of a deceased, the body is immersed in a formalin solution of about 5 to 7% and the formalin is permitted to permeate the skin. However, as it has elsewhere been pointed out, this is not an acceptable method because a long, drawn-out procedure is required, since a protracted period is required for the formalin to permeate the surface of skin, and also because this method can not satisfactorily prevent the spread of infectious diseases. There is, however, another popular antiseptic and bacteriological fixing method, currently used for anatomical preservation, for which a perfusion type fixing procedure is employed that includes the injection of an antiseptic fixing solution into an artery of a body and the discharge of blood from a vein.
This type of anatomical preservation procedure is generally called “embalming”. Embalming not only tends to preserve and improve the external appearance of a body, thereby reducing the disturbing effect viewing the body could have on a bereaved family and other mourners at a funeral, but also normally resolves the problems attendant with the spread of an infectious disease, and unhygienic conditions. Embalming, therefore, is performed for 90 to 95% of the dead in North America, in the United States and Canada, 70 to 75% of the dead in The United Kingdom and Northern Europe, and 70% of the dead in Singapore, and its use in Japan is gradually increasing.
One conventional embalming example using the perfusion type of antiseptic fixing method is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6-24901. According to this embalming method, incisions are made in a body in at least two places, and a preservative agent is injected, by manual injection hand pump, through a blood vessel (e.g., a femoral artery) at one of the incisions, and this injected agent forces blood out, discharging it from another vessel (e.g., a carotid artery) at the other incision. In this manner, the blood inside a body can be replaced with the agent, and the body preserved while not distorting its external shape. Agents that can be used for this embalmment procedure are also disclosed.
According to this publication, for injection, a liquid agent is required that has an antimicrobial or an antiseptic function. Formalin, cresol, phenol or isopropanol may be employed, although a formalin solution or a formalin and phenol solution having a density of 40% or less is preferable. Furthermore, according to this publication, since the contents of the abdominal organs, such as the stomach and intestines, are aspirated, defects such as decomposition and discoloration do not occur before thirty days have elapsed. As described above, embalming wherein formalin is used for disinfection and preservation provides appropriate effects.
However, when because of impaired liver function, for example, the blood in a dead body contains a predetermined level or higher of bilirubin, which is the main element of a bile pigment, and signs of jaundice have appeared on the body, the color of the body changes to green, due to a chemical reaction with the formalin element. It is said that of all dead bodies, the number for which symptoms of jaundice are present can reach about 10%. When such discoloration occurs in the capillaries in the dermis, the skin of the body turns green, and the appearance is far removed from that of living tissue. This is absolutely not desirable because it would shock the bereaved family and other people who viewed the body. Therefore, When such discoloration does occur, a conventional, temporary measure used to hide the green skin is the application to the body of a thick, unnatural make-up.